Catalyst for production of hydrocyanic acid



March 14, 1961 o. GROSS ET AL CATALYST FOR PRODUCTION OF HYDROCYANIC ACID Filed March 11, 1953 3 0 m w 2 g m w w 6 e B r 2. I W 2 am a, W 57 7 M u" l I 2 a I G m J m n 1 I W 3 1| |L \HII, :i ll .1 1 7. 7 9 0 4? 4 a mum m CATALYST FOR PRODUCTION on HYDROCYANIC ACID ,Otto Gross, Wanne-Ei ckelpand Hein z' Berg er, Heme,

' .Germany, assignors to Bergwerkge'sellschaft Hibernia Aktiengesellschaft, Wanne-Eickel, Germany, a corporationofGermany Filed Mar. 11, 1 so; 341,685

Claims priority, application Germany Mar. 24, 1952 1 ,3 Claims. (or. 12525477 This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for making hydrogen cyanide and more particularly to a method of and an'apparatus for making hydrogen cyanide from methane and other hydrocarbons. a I

lt is known to produce hydrogen cyanide by reacting methane. or other hydrocarbons at elevated temperature in the presence of suitable catalysts with ammonia and air or other oxygen containing gases. are employed in the catalytic oxidation of ammonia to nitrogen oxides are considered as being especially suit- .able forsuch hydrogen cyanide formation. .Such'cata- .lysts arecomposed of platinum or other platinum metals or alloys of such platinum metals. Hydrogen cyanide formation according to this process ,proceeds mainly according tothefollowing 2 reaction equations: S j (1) NH +1.5O +CH =HCN+3H O+113.6 kg. cal. (2) NH |CH =HCN+3H, -.-61.3 kg. cal. Reacting the pure or highly concentrated gases in stoichiometric proportion according to Equation 1 is ac- Oatalysts which companied by such an increasein reaction temperature that the catalyst will melt and the reaction components will decompose. Therefore inert gases, such as nitrogen,

are preferably admixed 'to'thereaction componentsto cause reduction of the reaction temperature. It has also been suggested to use "an insutficient amount'of oxygen,

7 thus, causing the, reactionpartly to proceed. according to heat consumingEquation 2. I I

When working according to Equation 1 and 'even more so when simultaneously working according to Equations 1 and 2, a reducing atmosphere is present in the reaction chamber. and, due. to said reducingatmosphere, sidereactions take place. Such side-reactions giverise to the formation of unsaturated hydrocarbons and. to the deposition of carbon. Such deposited carbon, however,

- forms alloys with platinum and other platinum metals.

, Carbon alloys of platinum metals, however, are greatly ,impaired in their mechanical strength. Thus, carbon deposition causes-rapid mechanical'disintegration of the catalyst. Carbon deposition and,"'due thereto, disintegration of catalysts as they are conventionally used in the form ofgauze or net-like) structures, occur: chiefly at the colder parts ofthe catalyst, i e., for instance, at those places where the catalyst isftightly held'between two flanges. At such places only a small amount of the ;reaction gas mixture will, come in contact with the catalyst Consequently a considerable j It is one object or this invention to provide a method of making hydrogen cyanide by reacting methane or gother'hydrocarbons with ammonia and oxygen or oxygen containing, gases inthe presence of a platinum metal catalyst whereby all the above mentioned disadvantages I n 2,975,144 5W Mew:

decrease in yield is the result.

of the heretofore used'processes and especially the occurrence of undesired side-reactions, of carbon deposition,- and of premature disintegration of the catalyst are avoided, optimum reaction conditions can be maintained,

and optimum yields are achieved.

Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for making hydrogen cyanide by reacting methane or other hydrocarbons with ammonia and oxygen or oxygen containing gases in the presence of a platinum metal catalyst, said apparatus being constructed in-such a manner that the catalyst't'emperature in said apparatus is everywhere as uniform as possible and that heat dissipation and loss of heat'fdue to radiation by contact of said catalyst withheat'conductive holders, clamps and the like are avoided. I r a Other objects of this invention and certain advantageous features thereof {will appear as the description proceeds.

Y The present invention consists, in principle, in the special manner in which the catalyst 'is arranged in the reaction "chamber. To avoid all the drawbacks pointed out above and other disadvantages'as they will bediscussed hereinafter, the catalystis not clamped or otherwise'"fastened at itslateral borders as in theapparatus used heretofore but is supported by and rests upon a non-metallic, substantially non-heat conductive, but heat resistant carrier "and/ or'is confined or bordered by such non-metallic,- sub'stantially'non-heat conductive, but heat $5fr'esistant material 'and is freely accessible in such position. "The catalyst isjnfeferably provided in the'form ofgauze or a net-like structure and consists of metals of-the platinum groupor their alloys. When selecting form and structure "of the catalyst, care must be taken *that the reaction gas mixture will uniformly contact'all parts of the-catalyst so'that the temperature of'c'atal'y'st and reaction mixture is at any place in the reaction chamber' as uniform as possible. Any contact of the catalyst with metallic elements or parts of the apparatus must f be avoided. Otherwise spots and places where the catalyst is in contact with such metallic parts will have a substantially lower temperature than the mean'c'atalyst temperature. Such difierences in catalyst temperature,

' howeven'will result, at said low temperature spots and places, in carbon deposition and, thus, in lower yields.

' 'Any metallic contact of-the catalyst and any-metallic 7 parts will'cause considerable heat dissipation" and,-a's'ea result thereof, considerable lowering of the reaction temperature and deposition of carbon. 'Furthermore,%with such metallic bordering parts, supports and the like,-there always exists the danger that such metals willform' alloys with the catalyst in the strongly reducing -atmo sand the catalyst is consequently cooled dueto'greater heat -The composition of -the reaction gasmixtureva ries considerably and it is'almost impossible. tosmaintam the rea qu m g i giecmpbsiti'omduringgthe reaction.

"control'the supply off-oxygen-and oxygen-containing gases.

It has"been"found, however,- that it is ably, as stated above, of hesame form and-com to nitrogen oxides, i.e. they consist, for instance, of j platinum or ,of platinum which is' alloyed with. 70.

i as r d t mr athsn smtrh d v 's k mPaQW? ether. al oy iqis iqa stslamlsl q P9 phere and, thus, will considerably reduce'its eflicie'ncy.

-'M 11i bqfdering parts, supports and thelike'atfectjthe reaction mixture also catalytically inasmuch. as-the'yie'ld of hydrogen cyanide is considerably decreased in parison with the yield ordinarily achieved with cat s ts j ofv the platinum metal group 7 Catalysts of the platinum metal group as used in he. i

process according t the present'invention are' er-.

ition as those employed in the catalytic oxidation-oi an) 10% of rhodium, -Rhenium, other platinum metals,

. between said carrier and said reaction chamber.

3 alloy containing 10% of rhodium, however, has proved to be especially advantageous. 4

The catalyst is preferably provided in the form of gauze as it is used in the oxidation of ammonia. Such catalyst gauze has, for instance, a wire thickness of about 0.06 mm. It is, however, more advantageous to use considerably thicker wires or threads of such gauze, for instance, Wires of a thickness of about 0.16 mm. and 0.20 mm. It is furthermore advisable to place several layers of such catalyst gauzes one over the other. This arrangement permitsv the use of a higher velocity of the react-ion gases and, consequently, considerably lessens the danger of backfiring in the gas mixture. It is also very advantageous to employ so-called band or coil contact catalysts, is. catalysts which are obtained on spirally winding up a thin corrugated platinum foil having a width of, for instance, 3 mm. to 12 mm. so that a round sieve-like body is formed the openings of which correspond to the depth of the grooves in said corrugated foil. One may also simultaneously wind up two platinum or the like foils the one of said foils being corrugated and the other one being smooth. After winding up said foils, the. spiral catalyst body is radially welded together in one or several directions so that it does not unroll any more.

Catalysts of the above mentioned composition and form are placed, according to the present invention, for instance, into a quartz tube. The lower part of said quarts tube is slightly conically formed. The catalyst rests upon said conical part and fits the opening of said quartz tube so that the space between catalyst and inner tube wall is not larger than the openings in. the catalyst itself. Preferably the quartz tube is provided with a quartz grate which supports the catalyst.

The non-metallic, non-heat conductive, but heat resistant material supporting and bordering the catalyst in the reaction chamber is preferably composed of ceramic material, especially of pure silicic acid in the form of quartz, and pure aluminum oxide in the form of sintered cOr-undum. But any other non-metallic, non-heat conductive, but heat resistant material may be used likewise, provided it retains its shape at temperatures between 1200" C. and 1300 C. and is not afifected by the gases participating in the reaction.

Furthermore, it has been found to be of advantage to arrange the catalyst, according to the present invention, in such a manner in the reaction chamber that the ceramic carrier carrying said catalyst is fastened to said chamber only at one. place, for instance, between two metallic flanges thereby forming a gas-tight connection In this way; mechanical straining of the ceramic material is reduced to the lowest possible extent and any thermal stress. in. the apparatus and/or strain due to other causes are absorbed by the metallic pants of the apparatus. The apparatus is, of course, designed in such a manner that,

even if the ceramic carrier completely breaks'and cracks, 7

no reaction gases some of which are very toxic will escape therefrom.

A preferred embodiment of an apparatus according to this invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing. Said embodiment of the invention, however, should be construed as an example only and not at all as indicative of structural limitations. The apparatus may be varied in detail and in general design in accordance with the, principles set forth herein and in the claims, annexed hereto.

The reaction chamber is shown in the drawing in crossscctional view. Catalyst 1 is placed in the slightly conical part 9 of tubular quartz carrier 2' serving as catalyst carrier in such a manner that it fits snugly the walls of said conical part 9-. The catalyst in the drawing is a band contact catalyst consisting of two spirally woundfoi-ls of a platinum-rhodium alloy containing about- 10% ofrho- 'dium. The foils are about 0.02 mm. thickand have a width of about 10 mm. One of said foils is smooth while the other one is corrugated with grooves that are about 0.5 mm. deep. Said spirally wound up foils are enclosed by a corrugated foil to avoid smooth contact between said catalyst 1 and the inner wall of conical part 9 of quartz carrier 2. The wound up foils are firmly connected with each other by radial welding so as to impart greater stability and strength thereto. Quartz grate 3 is provided in tubular quartz carrier 2 near its exit opening. Said quartz grate 3 serves as support for catalyst 1. Quartz carrier 2 is provided with flange 10 of the same material. Quartz carrier 2 and catalyst 1 are enclosed by tubular casing 8 which is also slightly conically shaped and has a gas exit part 12. Casing 8 and gas exit part 12 are surrounded by cylindrical jacket 7 forming a cooling space between jacket 7 and easing 8 and gas exit part 12. Jacket 7 has openings 13 and 14 for the introduction and the discharge of cooling agent and serves to cool the reaction gases after their passage through the catalyst. Instead of cooling the reaction gases by means of water, one may pass the cold gas mixture before introducing the same into the reaction chamber through said cooling jacket. Thereby the gas mixture to be reacted is heated while the reacted gases are cooled. Casing 8 is provided at its upper end with flange 11. Said flange is provided with a circular recess 15 at its uppermost inner wall, said recess being slightly larger than flange 10 of quartz carrier 2. Flange 11 is also provided with threaded holes 16 to receive stud bolts 18. Firmly attached to said flange 11 is cylindrical part 19 provided with flange 20. Into circular recess 15 of flange 11 there is placed an annular gasket 17 consisting of high-quality asbestos. Flange 10 of catalyst cartier 2 rests upon said gasket 17. A second annular gasket 4-v of high-quality asbestos is placed on the upper face of said flange 10, and flange 5 provided with a hole for screw 18 is placed upon said second annular gasket 4. By tightening nuts 21 upon stud bolts 18 a gas-tight connection between casing 8 and catalyst carrier 2 is achieved. Said gas-tight connection remains unaffected even if grate 3, catalyst 1 and the conical part Q of catalyst carrier 2 should break and be completely destroyed. Cover 22, provided with flange 23, is placed upon flange 20 of casing 8 and is gas-tightly connected with said casing 8 by means of packing 24 and double nutted bolts which pass through holes 25 and 26 in flanges 20 and 23 respectively. Said cover 22 has an upper opening 27 through which the gases to be reacted enter the reaction chamber formed by. said cover 22 and easing 8.

In the operation of such an apparatus as described above and illustrated in the drawing, a gas mixture, for instance of 42% of methane, 25% of ammonia, and 33% of oxygen enters cover 22 through opening 27 after it was heated to a temperature of about 100 C. by passcasing 8. The pressure of the gas mixture is about atmospheric pressure. The gases are ignited on passing through catalyst l1 and the feed rate is adjusted so as to maintain a catalyst temperature between about 1200 C. and about 1300 C. The feed rate for a catalyst as described above having a diameter of 50 mm. is about. 1 in. per minute. The. reacted, gases are then cooled to a temperature of about 900 C. on passing through casing 8. They are worked up in the usual manner whereby, for instance, ammonia is. selectively dissolved in hot 6% sulfuricacid and hydrogen cyanideis absorbed in cold water. Other hydrocarbons thanfmethane. may, of course, also beused.- They require usually more oxygen. Ruthermore, the process may becarried out at any pressure,,i.e. at atmospheric, super-atmospheric or reducedpressure. It is not necessary touse pure hydrocarbons for: this. reacion- A mixtu e. of. hy ca b ns ma alsobe mp ye Natmal: gas mixtures; which; are rich. n o r t ra y c s are especially; suitahlestarting materials for the p poses. 'of invention. In. practicing ing through the cooling space formed by jacket 7 and process of making hydrogen cyanide conventional gas mixtures, reaction conditions, and methods of working up the combustion products are employed and need not be described herein in detail. By the characteristic feature of this invention, namely by taking care that the platinum metal catalyst at no place in the reactor is capable of attaining a lower temperature than its mean temperature, the life' of said catalyst is prolonged 50 to 100 times and the yield is increased to 30% over the yield obtained under comparable conditions.

Furthermore, it was found that the effective life of the catalyst can be prolonged still further when using specific catalysts which differ from the conventional ammonia oxidation catalysts as well as from the band or coil catalysts described above in the following respects. The platinum-rhodium band or foil has a greater thickness than 0.02 mm. Its thickness is preferably between 0.04 and 0.10 mm. Although, by increasing the thickness of the catalyst foil, the catalytically effective surface per a unit of weight of platinum metal or alloy and, con:

sequently, its catalytic power are reduced, the effective life of the catalyst is. increased many times. In order to react sufi'icient quantities of the gas mixture per given cross section of the apparatus with such a catalyst and to increase its effectiveness, it is advisable to increase the Width of said catalyst bands or foils. Another very effective way of achieving this end consists in superimposing several catalyst coils made of bands or foils of a smaller width than 10 mm. to 12 mm. as used in the above described catalyst coil. Thus, in place of one single contact catalyst made of platinum foil having a width of,

for instance, 12 mm., it is more expedient'to use several contact catalysts made from foils having a substantially smaller width and to place two or more of such coils one upon the other in the reaction chamber. One may use, for instance, two superimposed catalyst coils made from foils of a width of 6 mm. each, or three of such coils made from foils of a width of 4 mm. each. Surprisingly it was found that subdividing the height of a catalyst coil in the reaction chamber so as to provide two or more catalyst coils which together are of the same height as the not subdivided coil, produces much better catalytic effects, i.e. gives higher yields of hydrocyanic acid than obtainable with one single not subdivided catalyst coil. Another means of increasing the effectiveness of the catalyst consists in increasing the total height of the contact catalyst coils, for instance from between 10 mm. and 12 mm. to 24 mm. or even 'to 30 mm. Thereby the throughput and, consequently, the yield of hydrocyanic acid per time unit are considerably increased.

As described above, corrugated platinum and the like bands or foils are spirally wound up to coils forming the contact catalyst. Preferably these catalysts consist of two foils of which only one is corrugated while the other is smooth. When using the above mentioned catalysts of smaller width best results are obtained, for instance, when using a foil of a thickness of 0.06 mm., by making the grooves of such corrugations of a depth of about 0.7

mm. and the distance between the deepest point of two neighboring grooves about 1.2 mm. The best composi tionof such a band or foil is a composition of platinum metal alloys having a rhodium content exceeding 10.%

of rhodium, said alloys preferably containing about 20%- of rhodium. Contacts of this type, i.e. of a thickness exceeding 0.02 mm. and preferably of a thickness between 0.04 mm. and 0.10 mm. which contain preferably more than 10% of rhodium and preferably about 20% of rhodium have a surprisingly high effective life.

, They can be used with great advantage at a temperature above 1200 C. and preferably between 1200 and 1400 C., i.e. at temperatures whereby the highest yield of hydrocyanic acid is achieved and whereby the absorption of carbon from the reaction gases is very slight so that the catalyst does not become brittle. Hence, catalysts of this type which are fundamentally difierent from catalysts as they are conventionally used in the oxidation of ammonia to nitrogenoxidcs, are surprisingly effective, have a considerably prolonged life, and possess other advantages as pointed out above. We claim: 1. A catalyst-for the production of hydrocyanic acid by catalytic reaction, in the vapor phase, of ammonia, a hydrocarbon, and an oxygen containing gas, said catalyst being substantially composed of platinum metals and being used in the form of contact catalyst coils obtained by spirally winding nonperforated foils of platinum metals of which at least one is corrugated to form a catalyst coil, said foils having a thickness exceeding 0.02 mm. said catalyst consisting of several catalyst coils superimposed over each other. p

2. A catalyst according to claim 1, wherein the platinum metal is a platinum metal alloy containing more than 10% of rhodium. V

3. A catalyst according to claim 2, wherein the platinum metal alloy is an alloy containing about 20% of rhodium.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,400,204 Backhaus Dec. 13, 1921 1,850,316 Davis Mar. 22, 1932 1,896,286 Burns et al. Feb. 7, 1933 1,923,865 Handforth Aug. 22, 1933 1,927,508 Titlestad et al Sept. 19, 1933 1,957,749 Andrussow et al. May 8, 1934 2,045,632 Colby June 30, 1936 2,330,539 Auchter Sept. 28, 1943- 2,357,570 Adams Sept. 5,1944 2,584,080 Houpt Jan. 29, 1952 2,740,762 Barley Apr. 3, 1956 2,832,675 Radke Apr. 29, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 527,401 France July 25, 1921 

1. A CATALYST FOR THE PRODUCTION OF HYDROCYANIC ACID BY CATALYTIC REACTION, IN THE VAPOR PHASE, OF AMMONIA, A HYDROCARBON, AND AN OXYGEN CONTAINING GAS, SAID CATALYST BEING SUBSTANTIALLY COMPOSED OF PLATINUM METALS AND BEING USED IN THE FORM OF CONTACT CATALYST COILS OBTAINED BY SPIRALLY WINDING NONPERFORATED FOILS OF PLATINUM METALS OF WHICH AT LEAST ONE IS CORRUGATED TO FORM A CATALYST COIL, SAID FOILS HAVING A THICKNESS EXCEEDING 0.02 MM. SAID CATALYST CONSISTING OF SEVERAL CATALYST COILS SUPERIMPOSED OVER EACH OTHER. 